I've gotten used to the dead parents face. I've gotten used to living with my gymnastics coach. I've even adjusted to sharing a bathroom with his way-too-hot son. Dealing with boys is not something that's made it onto my list of experiences as of yet. But here I am, doing it. And something about Jordan--being around him, talking to him, thinking about him--makes me feel like I can finally breathe again. That's something I haven't been able to do lately. He knows what it feels like to be me right now. He knows what it's like to wonder--what now? I think about it constantly. I need answers. I need to know how to get through this. In the gym, if you're struggling, you train harder, you do drills and conditioning. How do I work hard at moving on? At being on my own? And what happens if I might be...maybe...probably falling for Jordan? I mean we live together now. That can't happen, can it? But kissing him...well, let's just say it's not an easy activity to forget.

Hi Julie! Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed on my blog. It's lovely to have you here.

1. Tell me a little about yourself? What do you like doing for fun? (other than writing/reading)

I’m pretty into working out so I do a lot of running, usually every day. Lots of time at the pool in the summer with the kids. I like to watch lighthearted and even ridiculous television and movies. Anything in the realm of 30 Rock, The Office, Parks and Recreation, Dance Moms.

2. Where or/and how did the idea for your book "Letters To Nowhere" come about?

I got the idea for Letters to Nowhere on flight home from NYC in January 2012 right after my debut novel, Tempest released. I sat there staring out the window, creating Karen’s character and her backstory.

3. Name one thing that you feel makes Letters to Nowhere special? How does it stand out among so many other coming of age books out there?

What I’ve heard from early reviews is that readers haven’t read a YA or NA with a gymnast for a main character. I have to agree with that being a stand-out element because if there were more books like this, I would have found them and devoured them instantly. My teenage self would have done the same.

4. Have you always wanted to be a writer? At what age where you when you decided to write your first book or attempted to begin one?

I didn’t begin writing until I was 29 and before that I hadn’t ever thought about it. My first book was a weird version of what became Tempest, but really it was just the one-line premise that continued one—Boy witnesses his girlfriend’s death, jumps back in time, re-meets her and tries to prevent her death. In my first version of this, my main character was an alien (half alien), the only time travel happened before the book opened and Holly was a gymnast pursing her gymnastics dreams. It was about 200 pages too long and pretty much horrible. Lol. I wrote six more novels after that and learned a ton before selling the Tempest series.

5. Since being published with your Time Travel series, Tempest what has been your greatest challenge or tell me something you've learned along the way?

Sometimes I miss that pre-published energy. That time when you’re writing just for yourself. It’s a different mindset, but at the same time, I thrive on feedback and almost never complete a novel without having input from readers throughout the process. The more you learn about publishing and the business side of it, the more you lose that wide-eyed virginal innocence and it’s easy to become jaded. I have to separate the creative side from the business side as much as possible.

6. Your lead female character Karen is a gymnast. Do you play any sports?

I played many sports growing up, gymnastics (obviously), lots of ballet, soccer, track and field, softball, swim team. But gymnastics has always been my greatest passion as far as sports go.

7. Can you tell me some of your favorite books or authors? (current or when you were a child)

Current favorites—Anything by Tammara Webber, Courtney Summers, David Levithan, John Green, Miranda Keneally. Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger is my current favorite on the supernatural/paranormal side. I feel like there’s so many I’m forgetting…I love Beth Revis’ Across the Universe series and all the Vamp Academy books and the Bloodlines series, Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, Altered by Jennifer Rush.

8. Thank you for being here, Julie Cross. Are there any final thoughts you'd care to share with my readers?

If you’re not typically into sports or sports books, don’t be intimidated by the gymnastics aspect in Letters to Nowhere. I may have tons of passion for the sport but I wrote it with readers who love contemporary YA/NA in mind. Check out the online reviews and you’ll see that many reviewers had th same worries going in and were very pleased to find themselves able to relate completely.

Julie Cross is the International Bestselling author of the Tempest series, a young adult science fiction trilogy which includes Tempest, Vortex, and the final installment, Timestorm (St. Martin's Press). She's also the author of Letters to Nowhere (8/13), a mature young adult romance set in the world of elite gymnastics, as well as several forthcoming young adult and new adult novels with publishers like Entangled, Sourcebooks, HarperCollins, and St. Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne Books.Julie lives in Central Illinois with her husband and three children. She's a former gymnast, longtime gymnastics fan, coach, and former Gymnastics Program Director with the YMCA. She's a lover of books, devouring several novels a week, especially in the young adult and new adult genres. Outside of her reading and writing credibility's, Julie Cross is a committed--but not talented--long distance runner, creator of imaginary beach vacations, Midwest bipolar weather survivor, expired CPR certification card holder, as well as a ponytail and gym shoe addict. You can find her online via twitter, her personal website, email, facebook, Goodreads, or co-moderating the YAwriters section of reddit.

There are two tour-wide giveaways.

--GRAND PRIZE PACKAGE GIVEAWAY to ONE Winner.

--An eBook of LETTERS TO NOWHERE to FIVE Winners.

The Grand Prize giveaway is open internationally, however international winners can only select five of the books listed due to shipping costs.

GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY

AUTOGRAPHED FINISHED COPIES of...

- All 3 of Simone Elkeles' HOW TO RUIN series

- TEETH by Hannah Moskowitz

- GONE GONE GONE by Hannah Moskowitz

- LET THE SKY FALL by Shannon Messenger

- BITTERSWEET by Sara Zarr

ARCs of OCTOBER 2013 YA RELEASES

- UNBREAKABLE by Kami Garcia

- ANYWHERE BUT HERE by

- BANG by Lisa McMann

- REALITY BOY by A.S. King

- NEVER FADE by Alexandra Bracken

- SIX MONTHS LATER by Natalie D. Richards

ARCs of NOV 2013 - FEB 2014 YA RELEASES

- ALIENATED by Melissa Landers (Feb 2014)

- ROOMIES by Sara Zarr & Tara Altebrando (Dec 2013)

- AFTER EDEN by Helen Douglas (Nov 2013)

OTHER BOOK PRIZES

- Personalized signed copies of TEMPEST + VORTEX (a foreign edition if available can be swapped for the U.S. edition)

- E-copy of LETTERS TO NOWHERE by Julie Cross (if print is available at time of shipping, a print copy will be sent, too)

I haven't read a main character that's a gymnast either. I think what most interests me is the fact that she's living with the boy she's crushing on. Sounds like a story with some great run-ins and (hopefully) romance scenes!-Jenna

I'm not very athletic or talented, but as a child, my dream was always to be a great dancer or gymnast. I watch all the movies about dance and music, Stick It being one of my favorite movies of all time (although I can never find it in the stores to buy. Julie Cross actually favors the main character in the movie.) There are not many books out that allows you to live out a character's passion, so I'm interested in actually being involved in Karen's passion for gymnastics. If I wrote a story about my interests/hobbies, it would be about a girl who likes to fish and camp haha. Also, I bought Tempest through Audible and listened to it and really enjoyed it so that's another reason I am really looking forward to reading this book. I'm always a sucker for a great love story too and Jordan sounds dreamy.wendyrailey(at)yahoo(dot)com

I love the book cover. I have always wanted to be in the Olympic for equestrian or ice skating. My mom is quite too protective and won't let me out of her sight. That dream has sailed but I can read about it.

I love YA and NA, so a book that seems to be a blend of both sounds awesome. Plus I've always loved gymnastics (I was a gymnast when I was younger until the only gym near me closed), so this sounds like a perfect read for me!! :D

Well, off the bat I saw that it was written by Julie Cross, and I wanted to read it. Then, I read the synopsis, and the original plot line made me want to read it even more! I've never read a book about gymnastics, so this would be a nice change for me!

NA is still a pretty new genre to me, as is YA contemporary cause I'm more a paranormal/UF fan, but I do read the occasional NA and enjoy them. I've never read a book about ballet or gymnastics before, so yeah I'm intrigued! :)

There are a lot of things that interest me about LETTERS TO NOWHERE. One being I loved Tempest by Julie Cross, another being I heard great things about it, and that it is a YA contemporary novel that includes gymnastics.

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